Purchased a bike from the STW classifieds, need to redo the frame protection, I know invisiframe is the go to, but I don’t have the cash to splash on that.
Going to try a combo of the honeycomb all mountain style and a roll of 3m style clear tape, like this Gusset tape - though this isn’t 3m tape, if anyone has a link to genuine 3m helitape?
Anyway, what I was after is any advise / tips on how to apply helitape to a full susser.
As I strongly suspect could easily make a decent bike look quite shabby very quickly.
Clean the frame. Wipe areas where you're gonna put the tape with isopropyl alcohol to make sure it's really clean. Don't do it a cold area, possibly even warm the tape up to make it easier to apply and it'll stick better.
I only do the bits that really need it, I don't bother with covering the whole thing.
If you are buying the stuff with the backing that you peel off (rather than a roll), make sure you know which side the backing is on if you are cutting asymmetric pieces. I've cut sections to fit around cable guides then found that the sticky side is the other way round and so the section doesn't fit right.
I've bought the Just Riding Along stuff, comes with alcohol wipes and is the proper 3m stuff. Using water sprayed on the sticky side when you apply makes it easier to reposition.
Also only cover the areas with wear, for me that's where bags and straps are and where the wheels flick grit.
The Gusset Tek tape is 3M, it's what I use as I've found it much cheaper than from places selling the same tape as 3M rather than Gusset branded.
I made templates out of newspaper first to get the shapes correct, mark the centre line of the tape and frame to line up the pieces (just a little dot at either end will do). Slightly round off any square corners just a bit to stop peeling. Wet the area with slightly soapy water and work the liquid out and have a cloth to hand to absorb the excess water
The product number in the picture of that tape shows it is mounting tape. Never used that for frame protection, no idea what it is like. The 3M reference material doesn't mention protection as one of it's features.
I have used both the helicopter tape 8671or the thicker he and it is good but very expensive and the 3M paint protection film is also good, self healing etc. Only comes in 8 mil as far as I know. Much cheaper.
If you know of a place that does car wrapping/paint protection, you can often get the off cuts for nothing, and the sizes left are usually fine for bikes.